No one has time to write epic poems-- it’s finals week. So let’s scale back our length and talk about a short and sweet poetic form: the haiku.

Haiku are one of the easiest forms to remember. The only rule is that it must have a 5-7-5 syllable structure. Everyone knows this one. But to be honest, I couldn’t name a haiku before writing this blog post. Damn my euro-centric education. So I did some heavy duty research (lol no I did a few google searches) and here’s what I have to share.

The most-cited example of a haiku is by Matsuo Basho:“An old silent pond...A frog jumps into the pond,splash! Silence again.”

And here’s one that every student can relate to: “I Want To Sleep” by Masaoka Shiki.“I want to sleepSwat the fliesSoftly, please.”

A lot of traditional haiku have natural themes. They capture a fleeting moment of beauty. So in the midst of the flurry of stress that is finals, take a moment, capture some beauty. Scribble a poem in the margins of your chemistry notes. It’s as simple as 5-7-5.